The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal volleyball team won their fourth straight match to start the season.  The latest win came against the Mitchell Christian Golden Eagles on Thursday, September 3rd at Dell Rapids St Mary High School.

The Cardinals won the match in straight sets by scores of 25-16, 26-24, and 25-9.

The first two sets of the match were close, back-and-forth games.  In the opening set, both teams made runs.  After a 7-7 tie score, the Cardinals scored the next four points to take an 11-7 lead.  Mitchell Christian responded by scoring the next five for a 12-11 advantage.  St Mary then took control of the first set with an 11-2 run to lead 22-13.  They went on to take the first set 25-16.  The second set was never more than a three-point difference.  St Mary’s largest lead was three points at 16-13.  The Golden Eagles led by as many as two points at 22-20.  The Cardinals ended the set on a 6-2 run to win 26-24 for the two set advantage.  St Mary took the momentum from the first two sets and went on a big run midway through the third set to get the match win.

Ella Heinitz finished the night with 10 kills, nine digs, seven set assists, and two ace serves.  Courtney Brown had eight kills and 13 digs.  Ella Griffin finished with 15 set assists, six kills, four digs, two blocks, and two ace serves.  Maya Heinitz finished with 10 digs and three kills.  Macie Brown had seven digs and two ace serves.  Lauren Rasmussen had four digs and two kills, and Teri Schoeberl had three digs.

The seniors were also recognized prior to the match.  The seniors are Ella Heinitz, Macie Brown, Lauren Rasmussen, and Teri Schoeberl.

St Mary (4-0) will host Canistota on Thursday, September 10th.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal volleyball team remained unbeaten on the year after an exciting match win over the Oldham-Ramona/Rutland Raiders at home on Tuesday, September 1st.  The Cardinals won by set scores of 25-23, 25-13, 20-25, and 25-14.

The first set saw both teams go on scoring spurts.  The Cardinals trailed by four points early before going on a four-point run to take an 8-7 lead.  The Raiders responded by scoring the next eight points for a 15-8 advantage.  St Mary came storming back and tied the set at 16-16.  Oldham-Ramona/Rutland then went on a four-point run of their own to regain the lead at 20-16.  The Cardinals tied the set at 20-20.  The the two teams were then tied at 21-21, 22-22, and 23-23 before St Mary won the first set 25-23.

The late momentum seemed to stay with the Cardinals in the second set.  They jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and never trailed as they easily took the second set 25-13.  St Mary appeared to be headed towards a straight set victory as they led by six points early in the third set at 8-2.  The Raiders found a spark and tied the set at 13-13.  They continued their run and took a 21-16 lead.  St Mary scored the next four points to pull within one at 21-20, but Oldham-Ramona/Rutland closed out the third set on a four-point run to win 25-20. 

The Cardinals would not let the Raiders take advantage of any momentum from the third set.  St Mary once again got out to an 8-2 lead, but this time, they were able to keep the pressure on Oldham-Ramona/Rutland.  They pushed the lead to 18-9 and cruised from there to win 25-14 and take the match.

Courtney Brown finished the night with 13 kills and two blocks.  Ella Heinitz had nine kills, 16 set assists, eight digs, two blocks, and two ace serves.  Ella Griffin had six set assists, five blocks, four kills, and three ace serves.   Maya Heinitz added seven digs.  Macie Brown had six digs and an ace.  Jaycee Tebay finished with nine kills on the night.

St Mary (3-0) will host Mitchell Christian on Thursday, September 3rd.  There will only be one match, a varsity match, which will start at 6:00 p.m.  The seniors will also be recognized.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal volleyball team had little issue with the Great Plains Lutheran Panthers on Saturday, August 29th.  The Cardinals, playing in their first of six straight home matches, won in straight sets by scores of 25-13, 25-15, 25-19.

With the first set tied 2-2, the Cardinals went on an 8-2 run and didn’t slow down from there.  They pushed the lead to 17-7 and took the first set with ease.  St Mary jumped out to an early 8-4 lead in the second set.  The Panthers pulled within two points at 11-9.  Great Plains Lutheran continued to be within three-to-four points, but with the Cardinals leading 18-15, St Mary scored the final seven points for the win.  St Mary again got out to a lead midway through the third set at 13-8, but the Panthers fought back to tie the set at 16-16.  The Cardinals then closed out the set and match on a 9-3 run to earn the victory.

St Mary (2-0) will host the Oldham-Ramona/Rutland Raiders on Tuesday, September 1st.